Previous global reviews

Since the inception of the Aid for Trade initiative, 6 monitoring exercises have been undertaken, each with greater complexity and depth. At each Global Review event, the OECD and WTO issue a joint flagship report on “Aid for Trade at a Glance”.

On 30 June 2015, OECD Secretary-General Gurría launched “Aid for Trade at a Glance 2015: Reducing Trade Costs for Inclusive, Sustainable Growth”. The 5th Global Review high-level meeting offered the opportunity to recommit the trade and development community to continued action by developing countries and their development partners to reduce trade costs and support other Aid-for-Trade objectives, so affirming the role of trade in the Sustainable Development Goals and Financing for Development.

The 4th Global Review of Aid for Trade "Connecting to Value Chains" took place in July 2013. The theme of the Fourth Global Review of Aid for Trade was discussed from the perspective of joining and adding value within the network of production chains. Another key topic for debate was the development benefits of participation in value chains, notably in the context of the on-going deliberations about the post-2015.

Background

Aid for Trade helps developing countries, and particularly least developed countries, trade. Many of them face a range of supply-side and trade-related infrastructure obstacles which constrains their ability to engage in international trade. The Aid-for-Trade Initiative was launched at the 2005 Hong Kong WTO Ministerial Conference, and it aims to support developing countries’ access to markets by helping countries to articulate, communicate and mainstream their trade-related objectives and for donors to align with these.

The OECD and WTO have established an aid-for-trade monitoring framework to track progress in implementing the Aid-for-Trade Initiative. It consists of the following four elements: